GIFT  OF 


CxO 


^ 


MEDICAL  SEMINAR 
DISCUSSIONS 


EDNA  LOCKE 


MEDICAL  SEMINAR 
DISCUSSIONS 


BY 

Edna  Locke 


"In  as  much  as  this  world  is,  after  all,  absolutely  governed 
by  ideas,  and  very  often  by  the  wildest  and  most  hypothetical 
ideas,  it  is  a  matter  of  the  very  greatest  importance  that  our 
theories  of  things,  and  even  of  things  that  seem  a  long  way 
apart  from  our  daily  lives,  should  be  as  far  as  possible  true, 
and  as  far  as  possible  removed  from  error." — Huxley. 


Copyright 

by 

Edna  Locke 
1912 


MEDICAL  SEMINAR 
DISCUSSIONS 


HAHNEMANN  * 

MEDICINE  viewed  from  a  scientific  stand- 
point does  not  permit  the  consideration 
of  Hahnemann,  for  of  all  the  exponents  of 
medicine,  who  have-  contentedly  reposed  on 
conjecture,  Hahnemann  was  pre-eminently 
the  star  guesser.  When  his  ideas  were  dis- 
countenanced by  the  medical  profession,  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  place  his  case  before  the 
public  at  large  as  a  court  of  appeal.  This 
brought  about  a  popular  controversy,  which 
not  only  contributed  largely  to  the  success 

*  Read  at  the  Medical  Seminar,   University  of  California,    February  28,  1912 

3 
255954 


MEDICAL    SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

of  his  system  but  stimulated  in  the  lay  mind 
the  belief  in  its  right  of  judgment  in  matters 
highly  technical  and  scientific.  Hahnemarin 
with  his  clairvoyant  mind  required  no  knowl- 
edge of  the  cause  and  nature  of  disease.  He 
ignored  every  suggestion  of  pathology;  he 
found  symptoms  much  more  convenient  to 
contend  with,  and  the  task  of  selecting  reme- 
dies was  greatly  simplified  by  using  only 
symptoms  as  a  working  base.  Furthermore 
this  process  was  comparatively  easy  to  ex- 
plain to  the  public  for  its  valuable  indorse- 
ment. And  was  not  popular  indorsement 
the  main  support  of  medicine?  It  was— for 
his  kind  of  medicine.  Though  public  opinion 
is  always  to  be  reckoned  with,  its  favorable 
verdict  seems  to  be  especially  sought  after 
by  a  certain  class  of  purveyors  of  things 
medical. 

Did  Hahnemann  really  believe  in  his 
ridiculous  medication?  Was  he  a  religious 
fanatic  gone  astray  in  the  field  of  medicine  ? 

4 


HAHNEMANN 

Or  was  he  so  bewildered  with  disappoint- 
ment in  drugs  that  he  practically  abandoned 
their  use,  yet  gave  them  the  charm  of  mystery 
to  appease  the  lay  mind  ?  On  the  other  hand, 
did  Hahnemann  not  accomplish  some  good? 
Was  he  not  of  service  to  humanity?  When 
we  consider  the  heroic  measures  used  in 
medicine  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  for  instance,  the  enormous  dosage 
—from  two  to  three  ounces  of  saltpetre  in 
a  single  day — was  not  moderation  devoutly 
to  be  wished?  The  influence  of  Samuel 
Hahnemann  helped  to  moderate  this  excess- 
ive dosage. 

Hahnemann  was  born  in  Meissen,  Ger- 
many, 1755,  and  died  in  Paris,  1843.  In 
1796,  he  brought  forth  his  peculiar  system 
of  medicine,  which  in  a  way  was  a  natural 
reaction  against  the  drastic  measures  then 
prevalent,  but  in  the  rebound  he  practically 
reached  medical  nihilism.  He  also  advanced 
theories  which  denied  disease,  admitting  only 

5 


MEDICAL   SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

symptoms.  The  halls  of  the  United  States 
Senate  recently  echoed  a  voice  that  surpassed 
Hahnemann  by  denying  both  disease  and 
symptoms.  For  this  sparkling  absurdity  we 
have  to  thank  a  senator  from  California, 
who  is  a  sponsor  for  Christian  Science. 
While  Hahnemann  made  no  contribution  to 
scientific  medicine,  his  errors  were  such  as 
to  counteract  the  more  dangerous  errors  of 
others.  This,  indeed,  was  an  instance  of 
"likes  cured  by  likes." 

Hahnemann  not  only  selected  and  pre- 
pared his  drugs  by  a  strange  mingling  of 
ingenuity  and  false  reasoning  but  he  also 
gave  them  a  spritual  attribute.  The  salient 
requisite  in  the  preparation  of  a  drug  was  an 
extraordinary  attenuation.  He  gave  minute 
directions  for  achieving  this  extreme  atten- 
uation by  long  continued  trituration,  suc- 
cussion,  and  dilution ;  after  which  we  are  not 
surprised  that  the  drug  required  spiritual 
aid.  He  ordered  the  original  tinctures  to  be 

6 


HAHNEMANK 

reduced  in  strength  to  one-fiftieth,  and  these 
dilutions  again  reduced  to  one-fiftieth,  and 
the  next  dilutions  again  reduced  to  one- 
fiftieth,  and  so  on  to  the  thirtieth  dilution, 
which  he  himself  used  by  preference.  So 
carried  away  was  he  with  this  idea  that  he 
claimed  he  could  scarcely  name  one  disease 
that  was  not  most  successfully  treated  by 
merely  smelling  the  medicine,  and  the  results 
were  equally  gratifying  even  when  the 
patient  was  destitute  of  the  sense  of  smell. 
That  medicine  gained  strength  by  this  ex- 
treme attenuation,  he  declared,  "was  estab- 
lished beyond  the  reach  of  cavil  from  future 
experience,  either  of  the  allopaths  or  of 
practitioners  of  the  new  mongrel  system 
made  up  of  a  mixture  of  allopathic  and 
homeopathic  processes."  This  reference  to 
a  mongrel  system  was  a  wild  flower  dropped 
on  the  brow  of  the  Eclectic. 

With  Hahnemann  pain  on  the  right  side 
of  the  head  indicated  a  certain  drug,  while 

7 


MEDICAL   SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

pain  on  the  left  side  of  the  head  indicated 
an  entirely  different  drug.  His  discrimina- 
tion of  both  symptoms  and  drugs  was  exquis- 
ite. Francis  Bacon  said,  "Variety  of  medi- 
cines is  the  child  of  ignorance."  We  must 
not  assume,  however,  that  Hahnemann  ad- 
vocated different  medicines  for  what  he  con- 
sidered the  same  symptom.  One  of  his  most 
vehement  injunctions  was,  "One  drug  at.  a 
time."  The  attenuation  made  certain  its  one 
merit — of  doing  no  harm;  and  if  so  desired 
it  could  be  changed  for  another  drug,  which 
for  a  like  reason  could  again  be  changed,  and 
so  on.  But  Hahnemann  exhorted  his  fol- 
lowers to  stick  to  one  drug,  not  to  change 
the  treatment.  He  probably  knew  that 
any  one  tincture  of  his  thirtieth  dilution 
was  no  better  than  any  other,  and  he 
possibly  anticipated  the  awkward  discov-^ 
ery  that  his  remedies  might  be  inter- 
changed without  altering  the  result.  Hahne- 
mann's  medication  had  the  excellent  virtue 

8 


HAHNEMANN 

that  if  it  did  no  good  it  would  do  no  harm> 
This  idea  of  a  medicine  being  harmless  has 
always  been  a  talking  point  for  popular 
indorsement,  and  we  must  class  the  Hahne- 
mann  system  with  other  schools  of  fad  and 
fancy  depending  wholly  upon  popular  in- 
dorsement. These  schools  will  be  briefly 
referred  to  in  this  discussion. 

Let  us  recall  that  the  term  "Medicine" 
refers  not  only  to  a  substance  used  as  a 
remedy  or  palliative  in  disease,  but  in  its 
full  definition  medicine  includes  every  avail- 
able means  for  preserving  or  restoring  the 
health  and  comfort  of  the  animal  organism. 
Thus  hygiene,  dietetics,  manipulation  of 
muscles  and  joints,  heat,  cold,  moisture,  and 
mental  influence  are  within  the  term  medi- 
cine. This  freedom  of  method  has  resulted 
in  the  various  so-called  schools  of  medicine. 
In  the  past  this  freedom  of  method  more 
often  meant  lack  of  method  or  in  reality  a 
blind  groping,  though  it  contributed  some 

9 


MEDICAL    SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

useful  discoveries,  which  are  among  the 
empirical  remedies  still  in  use.  The  tendency 
has  always  been  a  too  ready  assumption  of 
a  curative  value,  instead  of  a  conservative 
acceptance  based  on  a  closer  study  of  both 
the  disease  and  the  remedy.  We  know  there 
have  been  exceptions  to  this  tendency.  Ages 
before  the  existence  of  chemical  analysis,  of 
the  thermometer,  the  stethoscope,  the  micro- 
scope, and  other  instruments  of  precision, 
many  diseases  were  described  by  Hippo- 
crates, and  so  accurately  described,  with  the 
treatment  so  logical,  as  to  startle  the  savant 
of  to-day.  With  this  early  start  of  extraor- 
dinary genius,  how  do  we  account  for  the 
succeeding  centuries  of  error  tinged  with 
charlatanism?  It  is  this: — The  study  of 
medicine  consists  essentially  of  two  depart- 
ments— diagnosis  and  treatment.  Diagno- 
sis is  the  study  of  the  cause  and  nature  of 
the  disease;  treatment — the  application  of 
remedies.  The  great  students  of  all  times 
10 


HAHNEMANN 

have  paid  especial  attention  to  diagnosis, 
recognizing  it  as  the  necessary  forerunner 
and  guide  to  proper  treatment ;  but  the  pub- 
lic at  large  is  little  interested  in  the  real 
nature  of  disease.  The  man  knows  he  is 
sick,  and  he  wants  to  get  well.  He  is  inter- 
ested only  in  treatment.  "Treatment"  is  the 
popular  demand,  and  popular  demand  is  the 
field  for  the  charlatan.  Suffering  humanity 
is  prone  to  give  an  eager  ear  to  the  glittering 
promise  of  the  pretender  rather  than  to  the 
sober  fact  of  the  serious  scholar. 

Often  has  the  dignified  and  sacred  func- 
tion of  medicine  been  lowered  to  support  the 
most  stupid  claims  and  fantastical  imagin- 
ings. Throughout  history  we  read  not  only 
of  remedies  absolutely  inert,  as  those  of 
Hahnemann,  but  also  of  those  which  are  gro- 
tesque and  ludicrous;  for  instance — "The 
moss,  that  groweth  on  the  skull  of  a  dead 
man,  is  good  for  staunching  blood;  and  the 
sting  of  a  yello\v- jacket  is  best  cured  by 
11 


MEDICAL    SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

rubbing  on  the  fresh  brains  of  a  coyote." 
The  instructions  for  applying  the  latter 
remedy  are  disappointing  as  there  are  no 
directions  for  obtaining  the  fresh  brains  of 
that  particular  animal,  though  it  has  been 
observed  that  the  sting  of  a  robust  yellow- 
jacket  might  instill  enough  speed  into  the 
patient  to  enable  him  to  catch  his  own  coy- 
ote. Thus  for  ages  has  the  pendulum  of 
medical  art  swung  from  the  sublime  to  the 
ridiculous. 

In  the  distant  past,  the  mind  was  be- 
fogged in  mystery  and  the  spirit  crushed  by 
repeated  error.  Eventually  a  time  came 
when  the  knowledge  of  physiology  and  anat- 
omy was  less  perilously  gained.  Before  that 
time  the  art  of  medicine  had  been  closely  in- 
termingled with  philosophy  and  religion,  and 
it  had  been  taught  that  the  dissection  of  the 
dead  body  was  wrong  and  even  impious. 
This  idea  was  so  firmly  rooted  that  for  cen- 
turies such  prohibition  was  maintained  by 
12 


HAHNEMANN 

civil  law.  Yet  strangely  enough  the  author- 
ities by  way  of  punishment  had  little  hesi- 
tancy in  submitting  the  living  body  to  cruel 
mutilation.  In  this  crude  past  the  cradle 
of  science  was  dangerously  rocked.  En- 
deavors were  long  confined  to  speculation  in 
mystery,  rather  than  to  a  solution  of  mys- 
tery; this  tendency  still  prevailed  suffi- 
ciently to  dominate  the  mind  of  Hahne- 
mann;  and,  when  by  sophistry  and  mental 
gymnastics  he  secured  public  favor  and  was 
hailed  as  the  Messiah  of  Medicine,  he  was 
content.  Hahnemann  had  no  bowing  ac- 
quaintance with  the  spirit  of  science. 

As  scientific  knowledge  has  increased  the 
number  of  so-called  schools  or  systems  of 
medicine  has  diminished.  And  the  phrase, 
"the  different  schools  of  medicine,"  is  to-day 
a  phrase  of  convenience  rather  than  of  fact. 
It  is  to  a  great  extent  a  relic  of  those  times 
where  we  find  many  so-called  schools,  con- 
sisting mostly  of  vague  theories  grouped 
13 


MEDICAL    SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

either  under  the  names  of  the  countries, 
where  they  were  employed,  or  named  after 
the  glib-tongued  fanatic,  who  claimed  to 
expound  them;  or  they  received  from  some 
enterprising  pretender  a  name  suggestive  of 
scientific  value.  To-day,  when  we  say 
"medical  school,"  we  naturally  infer  a  sys- 
tem; that  is,  a  procedure  based  on  reason 
and  demonstrable  facts  and  not  on  fantastic 
guesswork. 

But  wrhy  has  there  been  such  a  clash  of 
ideas  even  where  there  has  been  earnest  en- 
deavor to  relieve  human  suffering?  To  a  very 
great  extent  this  is  easily  explained  when  we 
take  into  consideration  one  great  fact  in 
nature  relative  to  disease — the  fact  that  in 
many  diseases  there  is  a  natural  tendency  to 
repair.  This  is  known  as  Vis  medicatrix 
naturae,  the  healing  power  of  nature.  It  is 
obvious  that  in  such  diseases,  if  the  applied 
remedy  does  not  too  much  interfere  with 
nature's  process,  the  patient  will  get  well; 
14 


HAHNEMANN 

and  it  is  also  clear  that  the  medical  enthusiast 
may  proclaim  a  great  discovery  if  the  remedy 
is  new,  or  increase  his  faith  in  it  if  it  has  been 
tried  before.  So  we  see  that  not  only  an 
ineffective  but  even  a  somewhat  antagonistic 
remedy  may  be  praised,  and  we  also  see  how 
the  apparent  results  of  such  pseudo-reme- 
dies could  give  rise  to  a  Hahnemann  system 
or  any  other  transient  school  of  medicine. 

The  fact  of  overlooking  this  phenomenon 
—the  natural  tendency  to  repair — has  given 
rise  to  more  false  clews  to  curative  agents 
than  all  other  errors  combined.  Of  this, 
Hahnemann's  system  was  a  typical  example. 
It  was  a  very  essential  part  of  Hahnemann's 
teaching  that  nature  is  a  bad  physician  and 
not  to  be  trusted,  that  drugs  are  the  only 
curative  agents,  but,  contrary  to  this  asser- 
tion, he  reduced  his  dosage  to  the  infinitesi- 
mal and  left  nature  to  work  the  cure. 

Though  we  may  be  charitable  and  con- 
cede some  credit  to  Hahnemann  for  his 
15 


MEDICAL   SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

negative  aid  to  medicine,  yet  we  have  one 
particular  grievance  against  him,  and  that  is 
for  climbing  over  the  fence  and  tacking  a 
name  on  another  school.  The  first  evidence 
of  the  individuality  of  a  school  is  manifested 
in  the  name  taken  unto  itself.  When  Hahne- 
mann  established  his  school  and  named  it 
Homeopathy,  he  also  took  the  trouble  to 
name  the  old  school,  Allopathy.  The  word 
Homeopathy  was  taken  from  two  Greek 
words  meaning  "like"  and  "feeling."  Thus 
it  somewhat  symbolizes  this  system  of  medi- 
cine* that  selects  a  remedy,  which,  when  given 
to  a  well  person,  causes  the  same  feeling  or 
symptoms  as  those  caused  by  the  disease.  He 
then  proceeded  with  disdain  to  name  the 
old  school,  "Allopathy,"  also  from  two 
Greek  words  meaning  "other"  and  "feel- 
ing," signifying  that  the  old  school  used 
remedies  which  caused  a  different  feeling 
than  that  caused  by  the  disease,  and,  Hahne- 
mann  notwithstanding,  such  a  remedy  might 
16 


HAHNEMANN 

not  be  a  bad  one.  To  make  assurance  doubly 
sure  in  conveying  his  idea,  he  proclaimed 
loud  and  long,  "Similia  similibus  curantur" 
—likes  are  cured  by  likes.  This  motto  had  ex- 
existed  however  long  before  its  adoption  by 
Hahnemann.  In  fact  it  had  been  formu- 
lated by  Hippocrates  and  later  used  by 
Paracelsus.  Paracelsus!  that  great  expo- 
nent of  a  school  of  boasting  and  medical 
dishonesty. 

There  is  a  seeming  analogy  between  this 
likes-cured-by-likes  idea  and  some  of  the 
best  recognized  remedies  of  to-day;  for  in- 
stance, the  serum  treatments  and  vaccina- 
tion. But  these  agents  depend  upon  the 
principles  of  immunization,  of  which  Hahne- 
mann knew  nothing;  nor  was  there  a  single 
instance  in  his  medication  to  verify  these 
principles  whereby  he  might  have  shared  the 
honor  of  his  English  contemporary,  Edward 
Jenner.  The  one  device  original  with 
Hahnemann  was  his  infinitesimally  small 

17 


MEDICAL    SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

doses  and  his  means  of  securing  the  ridicu- 
lous attenuation,  which  he  claimed  so  neces- 
sary for  liberating  the  spiritual  power  of  the 
drug.  But  the  day  of  reckoning  confronted 
Hahnemann  when  he  applied  his  system  to 
chronic  diseases.  Those  cases  of  ill  health 
persisting  after  the  administration  of  the 
precisely  selected  drug,  most  carefully  atten- 
uated to  its  spritual  potency,  gave  him 
pause.  But  Hahnemann's  resources  for 
reaching  a  conclusion  were  undaunted. 
After  long  concentrated  study,  he  definitely 
decided  that  the  itch  was  at  the  root  of  nearly 
all  chronic  diseases.  In  this  part  of  his  "re- 
search" work  he  omitted  the  ingenuity 
usually  shown  in  his  medical  rubbish. 

In  1877,  Dr.  Wyld  of  the  British  Homeo- 
pathic Society  published  this  statement, 
"That  although  many  believe  that  the  action 
of  the  infinitesimal  in  nature  can  be  demon- 
strated, its  use  in  medicine  is  practically  by 
a  large  number  all  but  abandoned."  If 
18 


HAHNEMANN 

this  was  so  over  thirty  years  ago,  it  is  un- 
doubtedly more  abandoned  to-day;  and  the 
question  arises,  what  is  being  used  in  place 
of  Hahnemann  medication  by  those  who 
claim  to  practice  homeopathy?  Are  they 
grabbing  drugs  and  dosage  from  another 
school,  the  very  thing  that  Hahnemann  him- 
self so  bitterly  decried  in  the  Eclectics — 
calling  them  a  mongrel  sect  ?  And  those  who 
depart  from  the  doctrines  of  homeopathy, 
yet  keep  the  name  for  the  tone  of  moderation 
it  still  holds  with  some  of  the  laity,  do  they 
do  this  in  the  spirit  of  medical  integrity 
—or  commercialism?  However,  probably 
there  are  some  who  still  believe  in  the  Hahne- 
mann idea  of  infinitesimal  doses,  and  even 
in  olfactions  or  the  smelling  of  such  medi- 
cines. A  comparatively  recent  writer  on 
homeopathy  goes  beyond  Hahnemann.  He 
claims  to  have  obtained  decided  results  by 
means  of  drugs  contained  in  closed  bottles 
held  in  the  hand.  This  very  dream  of 
19 


MEDICAL    SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

attenuation  is  surpassed  only  by  the  ab- 
sent treatment  of  Christian  Science.  We 
can  only  say  of  such  nonsense,  "It  is  as  fool- 
ish to  deny  as  it  is  to  believe," 

Among  the  schools,  depending  upon  pop- 
ular indorsement,  is  the  Eclectic  system  of 
medicine  which  as  a  system  is  rather  paradox- 
ical, for,  as  Hahnemann  pointed  out,  it  con- 
sists in  having  no  system  of  its  own.  Its 
followers  choose  from  other  systems  what- 
ever they  consider  good.  Though  this  has  the 
appearance  of  frankness,  in  reality  it  is 
brazen  assumption  raised  to  the  dignity  of 
dogma.  The  true  Eclectic  avoids  the  discus- 
sion of  principles,  not  that  he  has  no  ideas, 
but  his  ideas  form  no  working  system. 

Osteopathy  is  another  so-called  school. 
Here  we  might  say  we  have  a  medical  sys- 
tem without  medicine,  as  we  have  an  Eclectic 
medical  system  without  system,  and  a  Chris- 
tian Science  system  without  science.  Thus, 
if  we  attempt  to  analyze  these  sub-schools, 
20 


HAHNEMANN 

we  are  in  a  maze  of  hocus-pocus  and  f  olderol. 
We  know  that  all  these  advocate  wholesome 
food,  moderate  exercise,  proper  rest,  and 
sometimes  restricted  diet.  In  so  far  as  that 
is  a  part  of  their  teachings,  they  can  do  a 
great  deal  of  good.  But  these  and  all  other 
good  means  employed  by  the  various  sub- 
schools,  from  the  power  of  suggestion  of  the 
Christian  Scientist  to  the  mechanical  aid  of 
the  osteopath,  are  and  always  have  been  a 
part  of  the  Regular  School,  where  they  re- 
ceive the  fullest  consideration  and  use  ac- 
cording to  their  more  or  less  scientific  im- 
portance. 

There  is  but  one  system  of  medicine 
recognized  by  the  great  universities.  This 
system,  known  as  the  Regular  School,  is 
based  on  scientific  demonstration  and 
rational  procedure.  This  is  the  school  em- 
ployed by  the  great  governments,  because, 
especially  in  matters  of  science,  govern- 
ments now  seek  the  guidance  of  the  best 
21 


MEDICAL   SEMINAR  DISCUSSIONS 

universities.  England,  France,  Germany, 
the  United  States,  and  all  other  countries  of 
high  intellectual  achievement,  insist  upon 
having  the  very  best  medical  care  for  their 
armies,  and  navies,  and  other  important  de- 
partments. Germany,  ever  anxious  to  recog- 
nize the  work  of  a  deserving  son,  gives  no 
place  to  homeopathy  in  any  of  her  universi- 
ties. The  medical  system  of  Hahnemann  is 
condemned  by  all  men  who  have  anything  to 
do  with  biological  science. 

Imagine  our  government  sending  a  lot  of 
Homeopaths,  Eclectics,  Osteopaths,  and 
Christian  Scientists  to  supervise  the  matters 
of  health  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  when 
the  great  work  of  the  canal  was  commenced. 
That  fever-stricken  zone,  up  to  that  time,  had 
appalled  the  world  with  its  death  rate,  but 
our  government  sent  the  best  medical  men 
obtainable  and  they  were  all  of  the  Regular 
School.  To-day  that  district  has  a  health 
record  as  good  as  any  place  in  our  country. 
22 


HAHNEMANN 

Medical  jurisprudence  is  founded  on  the 
Regular  School.  We  also  notice  that  large 
institutions  as  railroad,  steamship,  and  life 
insurance  companies,  wherever  their  respon- 
sibilities are  related  to  conditions  of  health, 
employ  the  Regular  School  of  Medicine. 
With  this  preponderance  of  evidence  for  the 
indorsement  of  a  rational  system,  it  is  not 
clear  why  so  much  favor  is  otherwise  be- 
stowed by  the  laity,  but  such  is  the  case.  In 
San  Francisco,  those  claiming  to  practice 
homeopathy  have  a  very  large  following; 
and  in  Los  Angeles  the  matriculation  list  of 
one  of  the  schools  of  osteopathy  is  larger 
than  the  total  enrollment  of  the  ten  medical 
colleges  of  the  Pacific  Coast ;  and  thousands 
throughout  the  land  are  pinning  their  faith 
to  Christian  Science;  and  we  see  by  the  daily 
papers  that  even  the  modest  Munyon  claims 
his  share.  And  one  more  instance  of  the 
medical  resources,  which  depend  upon  popu- 
lar indorsement,  is  a  quack  nostrum  for  the 
23 


MEDICAL    SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

distribution  of  which  two  astute  men,  it  is 
said,  have  sold  the  earth  in  territorial  rights. 
These  two  men  are  now  highly  respected  for 
their  wealth,  and  one  is  an  instructor  in  a 
Hahnemann  school. 

An  explanation  of  this  public  attitude  is 
not  forthcoming  from  the  trite  saying,  "The 
public  wants  to  be  humbugged."  Though 
that  expression  may  serve  as  a  flattering 
unction  to  the  soul  of  a  successful  knave, 
it  is  a  vicious  slander  of  those  most  in  need 
of  help.  In  striving  for  health,  women  form 
the  greater  part  of  the  deluded  public.  They 
are  charmed  with  the  ease  of  taking  little 
sweetened  pellets  with  such  sophistry  as,  "If 
the  medicine  does  no  good,  it  will  do  no 
harm."  And  they  consider  it  especially 
suited  for  children  if  it  is  a  medicine  of 
pretty  color,  pleasant  taste,  and  perfectly 
harmless,  and  of  course  the  disciples  of 
Hahnemann  can  deliver  the  goods. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  public  has 
24 


HAHNEMANN 

been  misled  by  the  word  "allopathy,"  for  it 
is  frequently  though  very  wrongly  used  with 
reference  to  the  Regular  School,  which 
should  be  known  by  its  correct  title.  A  prac- 
titioner of  the  Regular  School  resents  being 
dubbed  with  this  nickname,  "allopath," 
coined  by  an  exponent  of  a  sub-school.  And 
when  he  is  asked  by  Mrs.  Somebody  if  he  is 
an  allopath,  let  him  say,  NO,  that  he  belongs 
to  the  Regular  School.  And  let  him  remem- 
ber that  for  this  little  annoyance  he  is  in- 
debted to  Samuel  Hahnemann. 


25 


FLORENCE   NIGHTINGALE* 

A  REMARKABLE  concept  has  from  the  earl- 
* *•  iest  times  pervaded  the  human  mind. 
It  is  portrayed  in  Greek  drama,  hinted  at 
through  all  literature,  and  crystallized  into 
the  expression,  "  Coming  events  cast  their 
shadows  before."  This  adage  is  strikingly 
exemplified  in  the  life  of  Florence  Nightin- 
gale. The  family  name  was  Shore,  but  the 
father  had  inherited  the  estate  of  his  grand- 
uncle,  Peter  Nightingale,  on  condition  that 
he  adopt  the  name  of  Nightingale.  Later  the 
family  was  sojourning  in  Italy  and  residing 
at  the  villa  Colombaia,  near  the  city  of  Flor- 
ence. It  was  here  that  our  heroine  was  born, 
May  12th,  1820,  and  named  Florence.  A 
coincidence  of  names  may  be  noted : — Night- 
ingale, meaning  night-song  or  lullaby;  Co- 

*  Read  at  the  Medical  Seminar,   University  of  California,  April  3,  1912. 

26 


FLORENCE    NIGHTINGALE 

lombaia,  kindred  with  the  ancient  word  for 
dove,  the  symbol  of  peace  and  human  com- 
fort; and  Florence,  suggesting  the  goddess 
of  flowers  or  gentle  gladness.  It  was  a 
strange  coincidence  that  these  names  were 
assembled  with  the  seeming  purpose  to  in- 
augurate the  advent  of  a  child,  who  in  after 
life  was  to  fulfill  so  grandly  and  so  com- 
pletely their  prophetic  omen. 

The  early  education  of  Florence  Night- 
ingale was  not  only  replete  with  the  womanly 
accomplishments  of  her  time  but  her  father, 
being  a  well-informed  man,  took  care  to 
direct  her  in  more  vigorous  study.  She  be- 
came especially  proficient  in  Latin  and 
mathematics,  thus  developing  the  faculty  of 
comprehensive  and  logical  expression  which 
was  of  the  highest  importance  in  her  later 
work.  We  see  this  faculty  manifested  amid 
the  confused  and  tangled  conditions  of  the 
military  hospital,  where,  by  her  concise  direc- 
tions, order  was  restored ;  we  see  it  when  with 

27 


MEDICAL    SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

her  pen  she  exquisitely  defines  an  inherent 
quality  or  a  noble  aim  of  womanhood.  Flor- 
ence Nightingale  had  in  the  fullest  sense 
"the  prepared  mind,"  the  mind  that  could 
instantly  profit  by  a  circumstance  or  combat 
any  emergency. 

To  Miss  Nightingale  nursing  always 
meant  more  than  handling  the  spoon  and 
bottle,  and  applying  the  poultice.  To  her, 
nursing  signified  the  proper  use  of  fresh  air, 
light,  warmth,  cleanliness,  quiet,  the  proper 
selection  and  administration  of  diet,  and  all 
these  with  the  least  expense  of  vital  power  to 
the  patient.  She  saw  a  bewildering  error  in 
the  idea  then  prevalent,  that  every  woman 
was  a  good  nurse.  She  knew  the  absolute 
necessity  of  training  and  study  for  efficiency 
in  such  work.  To  her,  hysterical  devotion 
and  the  polite  attribute,  "woman's  intui- 
tion," had  little  or  no  value.  She  could  not 
conceive  that  a  qualified  nurse  ever  fell  from 
the  clouds.  She  demanded  a  proper  combi- 
28 


FLORENCE   NIGHTINGALE 

nation  of  what  nature  does  for  the  woman 
and  what  the  woman  does  for  herself  by 
training  and  study.  Florence  Nightingale 
was  absolutely  frank.  She  said,  "If  a  patient 
is  cold,  if  a  patient  is  feverish,  if  a  patient 
is  faint,  if  he  is  sick  after  taking  food,  if  he 
has  a  bed-sore,  it  is  very  often  the  fault  of  the 
nurse."  Again  and  again  she  emphasizes 
the  idea  that  the  nurse  should  be  able  to 
discern  all  the  discomforts  of  a  patient  which 
are  not  really  essential  to  the  disease,  and 
should  with. precision  and  promptness  relieve 
the  patient  of  those  discomforts.  By  obser- 
vation she  knew  the  elimination  of  discom- 
fort meant  quicker  and  better  recovery. 

When  a  child,  Florence  Nightingale 
showed  characteristics  which  pointed  to  her 
vocation.  Her  dolls  suffered  much  from  ill 
health;  under  her  care  they  would  make  a 
remarkable  recovery  in  a  few  hours,  only 
to  be  consigned  to  their  beds  again  the  next 
day  with  some  new  complaint.  Childhood 

29 


MEDICAL    SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

is  always  interesting  but  especially  are  we 
fascinated  by  the  childhood  of  men  and  wo- 
men of  genius.  If  time  permitted  it  would 
be  delightful  to  mentally  visit  Lea  Hall,  the 
first  English  home  of  Florence  Nightingale ; 
to  notice  that  substantial  structure  with  gray 
stone  steps,  and  on  entering  to  see  the  old 
flag-stone  floor  and,  a  little  beyond,  the 
oak  stairway  where  the  gentle  child  first 
struggled  with  the  ups  and  downs  of  life. 
Across  the  meadows  from  Lea  Hall  are  the 
remains  of  the  mansion  of  Dethick,  where 
Anthony  Babington  dwelt  when  he  and  John 
Ballard  conspired  to  release  Mary  Queen 
of  Scots;  and  nearby  stands  the  little 
Dethick  church,  where  Miss  Nightingale 
first  attended  public  service,  and  fifty  per- 
sons were  an  overflowing  congregation.  We 
might  imagine  the  quaint  service  in  Miss 
Nightingale's  youth,  when  the  old  clerk 
made  responses  to  the  parson.  Trying  to 
trace  the  relation  of  early  environment  to  the 
30 


FLORENCE    NIGHTINGALE 

sequence  of  after  life  is  always  satisfying, 
even  though  in  the  cool  summary^  of  facts 
these  tracings  often  fade. 

In  England,  as  in  other  densely  populated 
countries,  poverty  and  disease  made  painful 
contrast  to  the  wealth  and  elegance  of  per- 
sons of  the  rank  of  Miss  Nightingale.  The 
daughters  of  affluence  employed  part  of 
their  leisure  in  visiting  the  cottages  of  the 
poor,  and  in  ministering  to  the  sick  and  aged. 
Miss  Nightingale  thus  began  her  appren- 
ticeship to  a  noble  work.  Not  content  with 
the  limited  field  for  this  work  on  her  father's 
estate,  she  visited  the  nearest  hospitals  and 
seriously  studied  the  art  of  nursing,  reading 
all  she  could  find  in  her  father's  library  re- 
lating to  the  treatment  of  disease  and  the 
management  of  hospitals.  This  wras  not 
done  in  the  spirit  of  faddism  nor  with  the 
effervescence  of  a  brief  enthusiasm  so  often 
seen  in  young  women.  Miss  Nightingale 
studied  her  subject  as  a  man  studies  that 
31 


MEDICAL    SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

which  he  earnestly  desires  to  understand. 
She  extended  her  sphere  of  study  to 
the  hospitals  and  asylums  of  London. 
These  institutions  were  large  and  liberally 
endowed,  but  they  abounded  in  abuses  and 
defects  of  every  description.  Most  of  them 
had  good  physicians,  but  in  many  instances 
the  physician's  skill  was  balked  and  frus- 
trated by  the  blundering  ignorance  or  the 
obstinate  conceit  of  the  nurse.  Everywhere 
was  seen  the  need  of  better  nurses,  the  need 
of  women  trained  and  educated  to  this  line  of 
work. 

Miss  Nightingale  was  a  devoted  member 
of  the  Church  of  England,  but  in  her  reli- 
gion she  was  neither  bigoted  nor  excessive. 
She  did  not  let  the  attachment  to  her  own 
church  blind  her  to  the  excellencies  of  others. 
During  her  travels  through  Europe  in  1845, 
she  often  met  the  Sisters  of  Charity  and 
members  of  other  Catholic  Orders,  serving 
in  the  hospitals  w7ith  such  constancy  and  skill 
32 


FLORENCE    NIGHTINGALE 

as  to  excite  in  her  the  greatest  admiration 
and  respect.  In  1848,  she  entered  a  school 
for  nurses  in  Germany  and  remained  there 
many  months  where  she  became  distin- 
guished for  ability  and  thoroughness.  On 
her  return  to  England,  she  became  the  super- 
intendent of  the  Hospital  for  Aged  Govern- 
esses, giving  to  that  institution  both  her 
services  and  a  large  part  of  her  income.  This 
was  the  nature  of  her  work  until  her  extra- 
ordinary services  in  the  Crimean  war,  after 
which  she  continued  to  promote  the  art  of 
good  nursing  not  only  in  England  but  gave 
her  help  in  this  splendid  work  to  other 
countries.  It  is  mostly  due  to  the  influence 
and  assistance  of  Florence  Nightingale  that  \ 
we  now  have  over  seventy-five  thousand 
skillfully  trained  nurses  in  the  United  States. 
In  1854,  Miss  Nightingale  had  the  oppor- 
tunity to  employ  her  talents  in  the  extreme 
hour  of  need.  During  February  and  March 
of  that  year,  ship-loads  of  troops  were  leav- 
33 


MEDICAL    SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

ing  England  for  the  seat  of  war  with  Rus- 
sia. Foresight  and  proper  method  seemed 
utterly  wanting  in  those  who  had  charge  of 
sending  the  twenty-five  thousand  British 
troops  to  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea.  The 
rigidity  of  routine  in  the  British  service 
was  extreme,  and  the  confusion  and  misman- 
agement abominable.  There  were  supplies 
in  abundance  but  often  no  one  at  hand  who 
was  authorized  to  serve  them  out,  and  it  was 
thought  a  wonderful  degree  of  courage  in 
a  surgeon,  when  he  actually  took  the  respon- 
sibility of  appropriating  some  blankets  for 
the  use  of  the  sick  in  a  temporary  hospital. 
One  part  of  the  army  would  have  tons  of 
meat  and  no  breadstuff  s ;  another  part  would 
have  an  abundance  of  food  for  the  men  but 
none  for  the  horses.  One  camp  was  ten 
miles  from  the  sea,  and  the  only  conveyances 
for  supplies  were  heavy  carts  drawn  by 
cattle  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  and  a  half  an  hour. 
By  this  method  an  army  of  twenty-five 
34 


FLORENCE    NIGHTINGALE 

thousand  men  and  thirteen  thousand  horses 
were  to  be  fed.  To  this  was  added  the 
scourge  of  cholera.  In  one  division  men  were 
dying  at  the  rate  of  twenty  a  day.  Can  the 
distress  be  imagined? 

On  the  13th  of  September,  twenty-seven 
thousand  British  troops  landed  on  the  shores 
of  the  Crimea  and  marched  inland  six 
miles.  There  was  no  foresight  to  put  a  road 
in  proper  condition  for  hauling  supplies,  al- 
though plenty  of  rock  and  gravel  were  close 
at  hand.  It  began  to  rain.  The  rain  soon 
*fell  in  torrents.  It  was  almost  impossible  to 
haul  a  supply-wagon  through  the  deep  mud, 
and  the  soldiers  with  blankets  and  clothes 
drenched  with  rain  suffered  the  unneces- 
sary torture  of  long  intervals  without  food. 
Another  instance  of  mismanagement  was 
when  the  admiral's  ship  signaled  to  send  all 
sick  men  to  a  certain  vessel.  Before  night 
there  were  fifteen  hundred  sick  soldiers  and 
sailors  crowded  to  suffocation  on  that  ves- 
35 


MEDICAL    SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

sel,  with  a  scene  so  full  of  horror  that  the  de- 
tails were  deemed  unfit  for  publication.  And 
then  it  was  discovered  that  the  vessel  was  un- 
seaworthy,  and  the  fifteen  hundred  sick  men 
had  again  to  be  transferred  to  other  vessels. 
On  September  the  20th,  the  battle  of 
Alma  occurred  with  no  preparation  for  the 
proper  care  of  the  wounded.  In  all  the  mel- 
ancholy history  of  warlike  expeditions,  there 
is  no  record  of  one  managed  with  such  cruel 
inefficiency.  On  the  10th  of  February,  out 
of  forty-four  thousand  British  troops, 
eighteen  thousand  were  in  the  hospital.  The 
word  "hospital"  when  used  in  reference  to 
the  Crimean  war  can  only  conjure  up  scenes 
of  horror.  The  battlefield,  cholera,  typhus 
fever,  and  frightful  mismanagement  all  con- 
spired to  make  those  conditions  which  were 
described  by  Miss  Nightingale  as  "the  lowest 
sinks  of  human  misery."  When  England 
heard  of  the  dreadful  mismanagement  and 
realized  the  neglect  of  the  sick  and  wminded 
36 


FLORENCE   NIGHTINGALE 

after  the  battle  of  Alma,  a  call  went  forth 
for  skilled  nurses.  There  was  but  one 
woman  in  England  qualified  to  assemble  and 
direct  such  a  band — that  woman  was  Flor- 
ence Nightingale.  The  secretary  of  war 
wrote  a  letter  to  Miss  Nightingale  asking  her 
services;  this  letter  was  crossed  on  its  way 
by  a  letter  from  Miss  Nightingale  offering 
her  services.  Within  two  weeks  Florence 
Nightingale  and  her  selected  staff  of  nurses 
reached  the  seat  of  war. 

Some  of  the  officers  anticipating  the 
arrival  of  the  nurses  ventured  the  remark 
that  the  rats  in  the  hospital  would  frighten 
the  wits  out  of  the  women.  It  so  happened 
that  one  of  the  first  things  Miss  Nightingale 
noticed  upon  entering  the  wards  was  a  rat 
slipping  in  behind  some  boxes.  She  did  not 
ponder  on  the  etiquette  of  woman's  emotions 
nor  ask  for  the  revised  statutes  of  woman's 
rights,  but  grabbed  an  umbrella  and  dis- 
lodged that  rat  so  quickly  that  the  officers 

37 


MEDICAL    SEMINAR    DISCUSSIONS 

dismissed  all  thoughts  of  timidity  or  lack  of 
mettle  in  these  brave  women.  Miss  Night- 
ingale found  the  hospital  at  Scutari  reeking 
with  filth  and  pestilence,  but,  when  she  mar- 
shalled her  forces  with  mops  and  cleansing 
fluid,  the  microbes  were  convinced  that  "the 
female  of  the  species  is  more  deadly  than  the 
male." 

Ten  days  before  the  nurses  reached  their 
destination  the  battle  of  Balaclava  was 
fought,  where  so  many  brave  men  were 
mangled  in  that  terrible  Charge  of  the  Light 
Brigade ;  and  the  day  after  their  arrival  the 
battle  of  Inkerman  was  fought.  The 
wounded  arrived  at  the  Scutari  hospital  in 
ship-loads.  All  the  wards  were  soon 
crowded  and  through  the  long  corridors  the 
maimed  and  dying  lay  in  double  rows. 
Proper  relief  seemed  the  despair  of  human 
effort.  But  Florence  Nightingale  with  self- 
possession,  firm  determination,  and  a  readi- 
ness for  emergency  unequalled  among  her 
38 


FLORENCE    NIGHTINGALE 

sex,  took  up  her  task.  Within  ten  days 
she  had  improvised  a  large  kitchen  and  a 
laundry,  and  systematized  the  distribution 
of  food,  surgical  dressings,  and  medicines. 
And  her  scissors  severed  any  army  red-tape 
that  withheld  necessities  from  the  sick.  The 
English  government  had  empowered  Miss 
Nightingale  with  all  possible  authority  for 
carrying  on  her  work,  but  she  never  used 
nor  abused  authority  except  on  the  side  of 
mercy.  She  proclaimed,  "There  must  be  no 
needless  suffering,  no  starving,  no  lack  of 
care,  no  mistakes,  no  confusion,  but  there 
must  be  order,  cleanliness,  and  every  pos- 
sible comfort."  Her  work  had  now  begun, 
and  whether  in  the  store-room  directing  the 
blows  of  a  swarthy  Turk  to  open  cases  for 
the  proper  distribution  of  supplies,  or  at 
the  bedside  insisting  on  more  and  better 
nourishment,  or  seeking  instructions  from 
the  surgeon,  her  efforts  were  concentrated 
and  effective. 

39 


MEDICAL    SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

In  the  records  of  the  Crimean  war,  two 
facts  affect  us  beyond  all  others — the  horror 
at  what  the  army  suffered  and  the  admira- 
tion for  the  genius  of  a  woman  to  relieve 
that  suffering.  Miss  Nightingale's  efficient 
work,  we  should  bear  in  mind,  was  not  the 
outcome  of  mere  generous  impulse,  it  was 
the  fruit  of  thorough  preparation,  the  re- 
sult of  years  of  training  and  study;  yet  all 
her  training,  and  study,  and  power  of  leader- 
ship, and  authority  never  obscured  the  essen- 
tial womanliness  of  her  nature.  The  depth 
of  her  sympathy  might  have  seemed  the 
greatest  of  her  qualities  to  the  soldiers  she 
helped  and  comforted.  The  intense  sorrow 
excited  in  her  by  distress  in  others  was 
feminine,  but  to  feminine  compassion  she 
added  the  quality  of  masculine  scope  and 
purpose. 

The  fall  of  Sebastopol  on  September  8th, 
1855,  ended  the  war.  The  news  soon  reached 
London.  The  Tower  guns  proclaimed  the 
40 


FLORENCE    NIGHTINGALE 

victory;  the  bells  of  the  cathedrals  and  of 
every  village  church  pealed  forth  the  joyful 
news;  and  on  every  hand  the  praises  of  the 
victorious  army  were  mingled  with  the  name 
of  Florence  Nightingale.  But,  in  the  hos- 
pitals at  Scutari  and  at  Balaclava,  the  sick 
and  wrounded  still  remained,  and  there 
Florence  Nightingale  remained  still  fighting 
the  battles  of  her  holy  war  against  the  pain 
and  misery  around  her.  She  also  engaged 
in  promoting  plans  for  the  recreation  of 
convalescent  soldiers  and  of  those  forming 
the  army  of  occupation  pending  peace  nego- 
tiations. Small  libraries,  lecture  rooms,  and 
a  coffee-house  were  established  as  counter- 
attractions  to  the  canteen.  Such  counter- 
attractions  were  of  much  importance  to 
"Tommy  Atkins,"  who,  flushed  with  the 
spirit  of  victory /'was  apt  to  drink  healths 
most  recklessly  and  to  make  each  day  an 
anniversary  of  the  fall  of  Sebastopol." 
Not  until  all  the  hospitals  were  closed  and 
41 


MEDICAL    SEMINAR   DISCUSSIONS 

the  last  part  of  the  British  army  had  orders 
to  sail,  did  Florence  Nightingale  quit  the 
scene  of  her  labors.  After  nearly  two  years 
of  devoted  service,  she  returned  from  the 
Crimea  to  her  home.  All  England  throbbed 
with  gratitude.  She  received  the  homage 
of  the  royal  family.  Parliament  changed 
the  law  that  the  highest  mark  of  merit  might 
be  bestowed  upon  a  woman.  The  Queen  of 
England  gave  her  a  cross  beautifully 
formed  and  emblazoned  with  gems.  The 
Sultan  of  Turkey  sent  her  a  bracelet  clus- 
tered with  magnificent  jewels.  But,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  no  king  nor  queen  could  add 
to  the  glory  of  Florence  Nightingale.  She 
was  lifted  and  sustained  by  the  glory  of  her 
own  genius,  and  on  her  brow  was  placed  the 
diadem  of  gratitude  of  all  mankind. 

Florence  Nightingale  was  one  of  the  few 

great  innovators  who  lived  to  see  the  world 

fully  realize  and  adopt  the  benefits  of  their 

work.    She  died  at  the  age  of  ninety.    Eng- 

42 


FLORENCE    NIGHTINGALE 

land  would  gladly  make  a  place  for  her  in 
Westminster  Abbey,  but  for  her  oft-re- 
peated wish  to  lie  in  a  quiet  country  church- 
yard. 

In  benefits  to  her  country  and  in  con- 
tributions to  the  wrorld,  all  the  host  of  women 
in  public  endeavor,  without  special  training 
and  study,  can  not  equal  her  sum.  The 
Greek  muses  could  have  said,  "The  work  of 
a  menial  was  touched  by  a  splendid  woman, 
and  it  was  reshaped  and  dignified  to  the 
admiration  of  the  gods." 

In  Florence  Nightingale  was  the  sub- 
limest  union  of  heart  and  brain.  Humanity 
will  never  be  decorated  with  a  more  beauti- 
ful flower  of  womanhood. 


43 


UNIVEKSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA   LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

Books  not  returned  on  time  are  subject  to  a  fine  of 
50c  per  volume  after  the  third  day  overdue,  increasing 
to  $1.00  per  volume  after  t'lfe.«ixth*1d-ay.  Books  not  in 
demand  may  be  renewed  if  application  is  made  before 
expiration  of  loan  period. 


EC  25 1983  -- 


